However, the queen appears to have
obtained
the favour she sought, through the intervention of our holy abbess.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
Much more should have been
every disease and distemper that was in the
country. Professor O'Looney's Irish Life
done to trim hedges and secure fields in an ornamental manner. By planting trees more generally and by building commodious and
of St. Brigid, pp. 29, 30.
^See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," handsome dwellings for farmers and cot-
Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxii. , tiers, the natural features of our landscapes PP- 554> 555- Vita Tertia S. Brigid ae, cap. might be rendered far more picturesque, Ixii. , p. 534. Ibiii. while social order and happiness should be
*'In one reading, Colgan found **in increased,
campo Mancho, which he amends in the following comment, "rectius yJ/o^/^<7. " This
was a plain extending round Armagh, called
in Irish, Macha, n. — This Magh, 34, p. 543.
^* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxi. , p. 554. Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap. Ixi. , p. 534. Ibid.
"
De
prospects, with delightful rolling surfaces, gidse Officium, Lect. vi. , p. 13.
plain now—
^5
charmingly diversified sylvan and pastoral Sanctorum Hibernian. " In Festo S. Bri*
if it can be so called
presents
Bishop
Burgo's
Officia
Propriil
^^ When this was told the noble-
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. lit
word of God, in the province of Ulster, and while the pearl of Ireland^^ formed one of a numerous concourse of persons present, the whole multi- tude saw a cloud of surpassing brightness descending from the heavens to- wards the earth. ^7 This luminous meteor rested over a place, adjoining that in which the congregation had been assembled. Afterwards, this bright meteor drifted towards the citadel or Dun of Leathglass. ^^ This remarkable Dun is still a prominent object near Downpatrick. '^s Having continued there for a considerable time, it finally disappeared. The congregation pre-
^ Thus is St. Brigid poetically styled by according to authors worthy of credit, the Jocelyn, who relates these incidents. See whole of Britain, and especially the He-
*'
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. " Sexta brides, suffered from the frequent incur-
VitaS. Patricii, cap. clxxxviii. , clxxxix. , p. 107.
^ The Abbate D. Giacomo Certani thus
non
sions of Danes and other Pagans, and for nearly two hundred years subsequently Dub- lin had been occupied by the Northmen,
writes —' '
while
made
alia sua
Canonica Saballense discorrendo delle into other parts of our island, especially
:
Staua
egli
lungi
A. D.
840,
they
frequent
inroads
bellezze del Paradiso, alle quali di gia s'ap-
prossimaua, quando si vide vn Globe grande
di luminosissima luce fermarsi sul cimitero,
que staua poco lungi allaCitta di Duno. "— A. D. 835, while Kethernus, prior in this *'
La Santita Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibemese. " Libro Quarto, p. 328.
city, with many others, had been put to death, A. D. 843. Wherefore, Colgan thinks it fair to conjecture, although he could not pronounce with certainty, that St. Brigid's sacred relics had been transferred from Kil- dare, while those of St. Columkille had been removed from lona Island to Down, before or about the middle of the ninth cen- tury. This he considers a more probable opinion, because no other period for this translation can be pointed to as more op- portune, and because, at that time, it is not a little remarkable, that one and the same abbot presided over the monasteries of Kil- dare and lona, while it is probable, he con- ceived a desire of having those sacred trea-
^* "
Ubi sepultus est ipse Sanctus Patri-
cius, Beata Brigida et reliquse Beatissimi Abbatis Columbae post multos annos collo- catse in sepulchro," will be found inserted between brackets, in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid, where an account of these events is given. The site of the citadel here men- tioned was known as Dun da leth-glas, by the ancient inhabitants of our island, or as contracted into Dun, now Anglicized Down. In Latin it is called Dunum. It is now a city and an episcopal see, in the eastern part of Ulster. At a period long subse- quent to their several deaths, the relics of
Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Columkille were sures, which had been committed to his
preserved in Down. This incidental pas- sage—already quoted from the Fourth Life of our saint—shows that the writer of this treatise must have written it, subsequent to
charge, removed to a safer place, owing to the frequently-recurring ravages of infidels. The Ulster province was then considered more secure than any other part of Ireland,
as Niall Cuille, King of Ireland, was sta- van's Annals of the Four Masters," tioned there, with his forces. At the year
A. D. 823, when, according to Dr. O'Dono- "
"Blathmac, son of Flann, received the
crown of martyrdom, for he was killed by
the foreigners at I Coluim-Cille," vol. i. , pp.
436, 437. At that date, St. Columkille's the Abbot of la, died in Pictland," vol. i. , relics were kept at lona, off Albanian Sco-
tia's coast, as Walafrid Strabo, a contempo- raneous writer, relates, in his account o—f St.
Blathmac's martyrdom, in these lines
:
** "
Et reliquis rabida sociis feritate peremptis, pendix V. See Trias Thaumaturga,"
Ad sanctum venere patrem, pretiosa me- Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, n. 30, p. 543.
talla
Redere cogentes, quels sancta Columbae
Ossa jacent ; quam quippe suis de sedi- bus arcam
Tollentes tumulo terra posuere cavato Cespite sub denso, gnari jam pestis ini-
quae. "
At the time of St. Blathmaic's martyrdom.
Also, Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, nn. 13, 14, pp. 565, 566, ibid. Also, Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 460, 461, and nn. (f, g), pp. 452, 453, and n. (p), pp. 466, 467, with pp. 442, 443,
^ The ancient Dun Keltair at this place
is composed of three great earthen ramparts, with as many intervening trenches. These were covered with a growth of furze, briars,
upon Leinster, burning and devastating va- rious places where they came. Kildare is
mentioned, as having been spoiled by them,
863, in Dr. O'Douovan's "Annals of the
"
lach, son of Ailill, Abbot of Cill-dara, and
Four Masters," it is recorded, that
Ceal-
pp. 500, 501. He appears to have sue* ceeded Sedulius, Abbot of Kildare, who died in 828, since we read of no other Abbot of Kildare that lived there as an interme- diary. This he undertook to prove in Ap-
112 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
sent would not dare to inquire, from their venerated Apostle, the meaning of this portent ; but, they applied for a solution of it, from the holy virgin, Brigid. She told them to ask their common father, St. Patrick, for an ex-
planation.
:
The latter replied to her " You and I are equals, therefore
explain this mystery to the people. "7o St. Brigid then spoke to the assem-
bla^^e ; she told them, that apparition indicated St. Patrick's spirit, which
went, as it were, before to visit the place where his body should be interred
""
after his death. 7^ For," said she, where this meteor first rested near us,
there shall the body of our holy patron lie unburied for some days,7» and thence shall it be brought, and be interred in Leathglaisse Dun,73 where it shall remain to the day of judgment. ''74 Holy Patrick then requested our saint to make with her own hands that shroud, in which his body should be wrapped after death, and he expressed a desire to arise from the grave, clothed with it, to receive his eternal reward. This request our holy virgin promised should be complied with, and she also predicted to St. Patrick, that he with herself and the celebrated St. Columkille, another great Irish apostle, not then born, should arise for judgment, from this same tomb. 75 The body of Ireland's illustrious Apostle was afterwards wrapped in that shroud then promised him by St. Brigid. On hearing this colloquy and pre- diction, the crowd assembled praised Almighty God. 76
Subsequently, as we are told, having obtained permission from the holy Archbishop Patrick for a return to her own part of the country, St. Brigid travelled over a plain called Breagh, within the Meathian territory. While she dwelt there at a certain cell, it would seem the wife, probably of Fer- gus,77 the son of Conall Crimthann, who was son to Niall, King of Ireland,7^
sloe and hawthorn bushes, when visited by the writer in May, 1874. The whole is surrounded with marshy meadows, re- claimed from the waters of Lough Strang- ford.
70 See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, vii. , p. 88.
7' In a note, on this passage, Colgan ob- serves, the meaning does not appear to be, that St. Patrick s soul, not yet departed from his body, actually came to the place of his future interment, but that the meteor represented it, and the place lor its future burial. See "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, n. 32, p. 543.
72 See ibid. Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, n.
15, p. 566.
^^ At this present time, in the small and
Joceline, cap. 189, viz. , that St. Patrick died in the monastery of Saul, and that his body afterwards had been interred in the city of
Down. Joceline also adds, cap. 193, that the Irish Apostle s body remained twelve days unburied at the former place, before it was brought to Down, on account of a con- test that took place between the Armagh
and Down people, who respectively con- tended for the possession of his remains.
75 See ibid. , Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. XXX. , p, 554. Also, Vita I'ertia S. Brigidoe, cap. Ix. , pp. 533, 534. This latter chapter concludes the account regarding this linen shroud by an observation, "in loco constat. " On this passage, Colgan has a note, where it is observed, that the author of the Third Life must have flourished at a
greatly crowded cemetery of JJownpatrick, very early period ; for, the linen shroud in beside the old cathedral, a hole has been question does not seem to have been in ex- opened over one of the graves, which is istence, for several ages, previous to the supposed by the people to have been the seventeenth century. Ib/d. , n. 33, p, 543. spot, where St. Patrick's body had been in-
terred. Under this impression, the Catho- lics of the town and neighbourhood fre- quently remove small quantities of earth. Even pilgrims from the most distant parts of the world obtain portions, which they carry away as souvenirs of Ireland's great Apostle.
7* The author of St. Tatrick's Fourth
Life appears to insinuate, in this particular place, what is asserted by Probus, in his
iafe of St. Patrick, lib. ii. , and also by
T^ To these foregoing circumstances, some allusion seems to be made, and with a suffi- cient amount of poetical licence, in Vita Sexta S. Brigidse, sees, xlvi. , xlviii. , pp. 592, 593. Jbid.
77 This son to King Conall, who is said to have dwelt in the plain of Breagh, and whose posterity had been addicted to vio- lence and bloodshed, during a period they ruled over the kingdom, can be no other than Ferguss, surnamed Kerrbheoil.
78 Niall the Great had two sons, both of
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
"3
visitedher,toentreatherintercession. Thenoble-bornwoman,inquestion, brought a silver vessel, as a gift for our saint. Brigid sent one of her nuns to wait upon that distinguished visitor, who stood without the door. For some cause, the holy abbess herself did not wish to appear. 79 The nun soon returned, asking why her superioress would not see the queen and pray to God for her, that thus she might obtain the object desired by the royal visitor, and more especially, as the holy virgin had often asked for like favours, on behalf of peasants' wives. The saint of God replied, that with few exceptions, the poor and rustics serve Almighty God, and pray to Him ; whilst, only in it'ff instances, is it found, that the children of kings are not malicious, sons of blood, and libertines.
However, the queen appears to have obtained the favour she sought, through the intervention of our holy abbess. To her prayers is attributed the birth of Diermit,^° son to Fergus,^^ and afterwards supreme Monarch of Ireland. ^^' In granting her request, however, our saint told the nun, that the queen's posterity must needs be addicted to deeds of bloodshed,^3 and must incur malediction, even although they should reign for a lapse of years. ^^ The event corresponded with our saint's prediction. ^5
This illustrious abbess did not take her mind or her attention from our
Lord, for the space of one hour at any time. She was constantly speaking of Him, and she was ever thinking of Him, as is evident from her own life, and also from the life of St. Brenainn, Bishop of Cluain-fearta. ^^ She was very hospitable, likewise, and exceedingly charitable towards guests and needy people. ^7 Animated with this kindly and generous spirit towards her neighbour, she loved God to such a degree, that her mind was continually intent on His Divine perfections, and elevated by holy contemplation. One
whomwerecalledConallorConald; but, to distinguish them, one was named Conall Crimthann, and the other Conall Gulban. In the time of St. Brigid, Conall Crimthann, with his progeny, ruled over the extensive territories of Breagh and Meath. Before St. Brigid's birth or the arrival of St. Pa- trick in Ireland, Conall Gulban acquired ample possessions in Ulster. From him, the district, called Tir-Connell, derived its name.
" This account is also very fully related
in Abbate D. Giacomo Certani's " La San-
titi frodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Iber-
because Ferguss, son of the last-named
prince, then ruled over Breagh territory, while the sons of Conall Gulban reigned in Ultonia ; as also, because a son to this Ferguss was the famous Diermit, King of Ireland.
8^ When the writers of St. Brigid's Acts call the posterity of a child, born through her prayers, bloody, they seem to have had reference to these and like disastrous issues. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, n. 36, pp. 543, 544.
^3 From the race of^ both Conalls issued
many kings, not only over those provinces, which have been already alluded to,
nese. " LibroQuinto,pp. 538to340.
^This Diermit had three sons, Aldus but who even were monarchs over all Ire-
Slane, Colman, surnamed the Great, and land ; and, it may be observed, on account
Colman, the Less. The sons and posterity of these princes, contending for the sove-
reignty of Meath and of Ireland, engaged
in devastating wars. In such internecine
contests, the kings themselves were fre- quentlykilled; asforinstance,Suibhne,son
to Colman the Less, was cut off by Aldus
Slane ; and Conall, son to the same Aldus,
was slain by ^nguss, son of Colman the
Great; Conall,sonoftheaforesaidSuibhne,
was put to death by the same Aldus Slane ;
while Moelumius and Colchus, two sons of
yEnguss, son to Colman the Great, were xvii. , p. 17. killed by Diermit, son to Aldus Slane.
^'
In the present case, we must suppose Conall Crimthainn's son alluded to, as well
«7See "The Martyrology of Donegal. " Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd, and Reeves, pp.
34, 35-
Vol. II.
I
of many wars waged by them, in acquiring and defending their territories, they deserved to be called men of violence.
^^ See L. Tachet de Barneval's
**
Histoire
Ldgendaire de ITrlande," chap, vi. , p. 57. "
^sSee Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxiv. , p. 555. Also, Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap.
Ixiv. , p. 534. 8^ "
See Acta Sancti Brendani. " Edited by Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran, D. D. , Bishop of Ossory. Vita S. Brendani, cap.
114 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [I'ebruary t.
day, a pious man came to that place,^^ where Brigid was accustomed to oflfer her private devotions, when he found her hands extended towards heaven, in prayer. ^9 Our saint was so entranced in God's holy presence, that she seemed undisturbed, in the least degree, by shouts of certain neighbouring villagers, both men and women. These 'were engaged in driving away some calves from their dams. On seeing St. Brigid's attention thus wholly absorbed in the Divine presence, her devout visitor was not willing to disturb the course of her meditations. After the lapse of an hour, however, he
:
returned,andsaidtoher "OSaintofGod,haveyounotheardgreatout-
cries raised in the hamlet ? " She answered in the negative. Her interro-
"
gator then said :
What, therefore, hath become of thy hearing ? " St. Brigid
"As God is
beheld Masses celebrated in the city of Rome,9° and at the tombs of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul. 9^ I very much desire, likewise, that the wholeRomanritualandliturgymaybebroughttome. "^^ Afterwards,St. Brigid sent prudent men to Rome,93 that thence these might bring the same masses and ecclesiastical rules. ? * At Placentia95 and elsewhere, she is said to have saved her messengers by miracles? ^ from impending death. The following legendary account, regarding this mission, is found in a commentary,
my witness,
^ It is assumed to have been in Kildare,
by the Abbate Certani, although it may have been at some other place.
^ This narrative is very fully set forth in Abbate D. Giacomo Certani's **La Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibernese. " Libro Sesto, pp. 472 to 479.
9° Colgan remarks, that her words could have been verified in a double manner : First, either by supposing St. Brigid to have
been miraculously present, in the two dis- tant cities of Rome and—of Kildare—if that
replied :
be the place designated
time ; or, secondly, by remaining, in one place only, she could have seen in spirit what occurred, in the other^distant city. He adds, that either mode is possible, and that other instances are to be found, as in St. Anthony of Padua's Acts, which bear a re- semblance to what is here related. See
** Trias Thaumaturga," Tertia Vita S. Bri- gidse, n. 54, p. 544.
at one and the same
in
of Marianus O'Gorman, at the 1st of Feb- ruary, there are various particulars given, regarding the legation of St. Brigid.
9* See ibid. , Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. ii. , cap. xiv. , p. 552. Vita Tertia S. Bri- gidae, cap. xci. , pp. 538, 539, ibid. In the latter life, to the account contained in the text, this following sentence is added :— "Item dixit post aliquantum tempus Bri-
9* The author of her metrical acts ad illos states, gida
that she was not present at Rome bodily, but only saw by a mental illuminat—ion what
qui-
took place in that city. He adds
detulerunt ut invenerunt. "
the first century of the Christian era, Silius
"
:
Officium sanctum placuit sibi semper ha- bendum,
Unde sacerdotes Romam transmisit ad urbem.
Sacra adferre nova et quodcumque audi-
verat
illic,
Virginibus cupiens haic tradere lege pe-
renni.
Libros composites, cantumque et munera multa
Misit Apostolicus Brigidse, concessit ha- benda
Tradidit ilia suis, discendi vertit inusum,"
"
Certavit Mutinas quassata Placentia
--Sexta Vita S. Brigidae, sec. Ivi. p. 594. loid^
— bello. " **
Punicorum," lib. viii. , v. 593. It is now called Placenza, on the River Trebia, not far from the Po. A very interesting de- scription of it may be found, in Rev. John Chetwode Eustace's " Classical Tour through Italy, An. MDCCCII. ," vol. i. , chap, vi. , pp. 237 to 241.
9^ These Colgan did not think necessary to be related, in his own notes. See " Tria9 Thaumaturga," n. 55.
at the time I heard and you speak of,
9' The meaning of the Latin words, in our saint's lives, seems to indicate, that St. Brigid desired to conform entirely to the rites, ceremonies and constitutions of the Roman Church; wherefore, the Ritual of Rome and the Roman order bear such a sig- nification.
93 Colgan says, that in an Irish Life of
St. Brigid, at chapter 50, and in an old MS. , called by our antiquaries, "The Book of
Hymns," in a commentary to a certain can- ticle, composed in praise of St. Brigid, and
commentaries, affixed to the Martyrology
viros ;
dam commutaverunt in Roma missas post-
Ego sentio quod quam venistis ab ea. Exite iterum. Et illi
exierunt et
95 This was an ancient city of Italy. In
Italicus alludes to
it,
in this hexameter line:
I'ebruary I. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. ti^
affixed to St. Angus' "Metrical Festilogy," at the ist of February. On a certain day, as she could not undertake the journey herself, St. Brigid sent
seven of her disciples to Rome,97 that they might bring from thence the
Ordo of St. Peter, or the Roman Rite. But, on their return home, they en-
tirely forget what they had then learned. To whom St. Brigid addressed
these words " The Son of the Virgin knows, that however great your dili- :
gence had been, it is altogether useless. " Again, she despatched seven other disciples, and with a hke result. A third time, she sent other mes- sengers,andjoinedwiththemacertainblind/r^/^^<? ofherown. TheAl- mighty had endowed this blind man with the singular faculty of retaining permanently in his recollection, whatsoever he heard. Being overtaken by a storm in the Iccian98 or Tyrhene^s* sea, they cast anchor. Alterwards, being unable to raise it, the crew cast lots among themselves, to determine who should commit himself to the deep to loose its fastenings. Their lot fell upontheblindmanalreadymentioned. Ondivingdownwards,heappeared no more, until other sailors, driven by the same storm, cast anchor in this place. When they wound it upwards again, they observed this blind man ascending with their anchor, and bearing with him the Ecclesiastical Rite or
"
Ordo, and a bell, afterwards called, Cloc an mic daill, or
bell of the blind
son. " At a time this legend was in vogue, it was believed, St. Brigid's fa-
mily had still possession ot this bell,'°° and that they used a Ritual, called
"
the
yet it probably shadows the substance of a conviction, that St. Brigid, Hke her beloved teacher St. Patrick, clung with fidelity and affection to the rites and practices of the Roman Church, the true fountain and centre of Christian union.
CHAPTER VIII.
ILLAND, THE WARRIOR PRINCE OF LEINSTER—ST. BRIGID VISITS HER FATHER, DUB- TACH, AND PROTECTS HIS FAMILY—FAVOURS ACCORDED TO THE HOLY ABBESS— SHE VISITS KING ILLAND AND BLESSES HIM—THE VICTORIES OF THIS DYNAST OVER HIS ENEMIES—THE BORUMHA LAIGHEAN—WARS THROUGHOUT IRELAND DURING ST. brigid's LIFETIME—DEATH OF KING ILLAND—VICTORY OBTAINED AFTER HIS DEATH BY THE LAGENIANS, THROUGH THE SPECIAL PROTECTION OF ST. BRIGID.
Again must we regard St. Brigid as having returned to Leinster, where the chief
Ordo Placentinus. "^°^ Quaint though the form of this legend may be,
actions of her religious life took place.
97 Very numerous views of this city by Piranesi are engraved in R. Venuti's *' Ac- curata e Succinta Descrizione Topografica e Istorica di Roma Moderna," published in four 4to vols. Roma, A. D. 1766.
^The Iccius Portus of is Ptolemy sup-
posed to be Calais in Picardy ; so that the sea between that port of France and Dover is
Soon after the death of Crimthann,^
conserua quel libro col campanello nel Mo-
nasterio Killdariense chiamandosi da tutti
Cloc-an-Mic-Daill, cioe Campana del figlio cieco. "—"La Santit^ Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibemese. " Libro Sesto, p. 478.
as the " Iccium Mare. "
'°^ The account adds that Placentia -was a city near the Iccian, or more correctly the Tyrrhenian Sea, and that there St, Brigid vtras venerated. See " Trias Ihauma-
usually distinguished
99 This was called by the ancients indif-
Colgan's
turga," Appendix Secunda ad Acta S. Bri-
''
ferently TuscumMare,velTyrrhenum, quod et Infernum. " It lies on the western shore of Italy. See Wilkinson's "Atlas Classica. " Map 24. Italia Antiqua.
'°° The Abbate Certani says:— " Si con- seru6 lunghissimo tempo, e forse ancora si
gidae,cap.
every disease and distemper that was in the
country. Professor O'Looney's Irish Life
done to trim hedges and secure fields in an ornamental manner. By planting trees more generally and by building commodious and
of St. Brigid, pp. 29, 30.
^See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," handsome dwellings for farmers and cot-
Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxii. , tiers, the natural features of our landscapes PP- 554> 555- Vita Tertia S. Brigid ae, cap. might be rendered far more picturesque, Ixii. , p. 534. Ibiii. while social order and happiness should be
*'In one reading, Colgan found **in increased,
campo Mancho, which he amends in the following comment, "rectius yJ/o^/^<7. " This
was a plain extending round Armagh, called
in Irish, Macha, n. — This Magh, 34, p. 543.
^* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxi. , p. 554. Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap. Ixi. , p. 534. Ibid.
"
De
prospects, with delightful rolling surfaces, gidse Officium, Lect. vi. , p. 13.
plain now—
^5
charmingly diversified sylvan and pastoral Sanctorum Hibernian. " In Festo S. Bri*
if it can be so called
presents
Bishop
Burgo's
Officia
Propriil
^^ When this was told the noble-
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. lit
word of God, in the province of Ulster, and while the pearl of Ireland^^ formed one of a numerous concourse of persons present, the whole multi- tude saw a cloud of surpassing brightness descending from the heavens to- wards the earth. ^7 This luminous meteor rested over a place, adjoining that in which the congregation had been assembled. Afterwards, this bright meteor drifted towards the citadel or Dun of Leathglass. ^^ This remarkable Dun is still a prominent object near Downpatrick. '^s Having continued there for a considerable time, it finally disappeared. The congregation pre-
^ Thus is St. Brigid poetically styled by according to authors worthy of credit, the Jocelyn, who relates these incidents. See whole of Britain, and especially the He-
*'
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. " Sexta brides, suffered from the frequent incur-
VitaS. Patricii, cap. clxxxviii. , clxxxix. , p. 107.
^ The Abbate D. Giacomo Certani thus
non
sions of Danes and other Pagans, and for nearly two hundred years subsequently Dub- lin had been occupied by the Northmen,
writes —' '
while
made
alia sua
Canonica Saballense discorrendo delle into other parts of our island, especially
:
Staua
egli
lungi
A. D.
840,
they
frequent
inroads
bellezze del Paradiso, alle quali di gia s'ap-
prossimaua, quando si vide vn Globe grande
di luminosissima luce fermarsi sul cimitero,
que staua poco lungi allaCitta di Duno. "— A. D. 835, while Kethernus, prior in this *'
La Santita Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibemese. " Libro Quarto, p. 328.
city, with many others, had been put to death, A. D. 843. Wherefore, Colgan thinks it fair to conjecture, although he could not pronounce with certainty, that St. Brigid's sacred relics had been transferred from Kil- dare, while those of St. Columkille had been removed from lona Island to Down, before or about the middle of the ninth cen- tury. This he considers a more probable opinion, because no other period for this translation can be pointed to as more op- portune, and because, at that time, it is not a little remarkable, that one and the same abbot presided over the monasteries of Kil- dare and lona, while it is probable, he con- ceived a desire of having those sacred trea-
^* "
Ubi sepultus est ipse Sanctus Patri-
cius, Beata Brigida et reliquse Beatissimi Abbatis Columbae post multos annos collo- catse in sepulchro," will be found inserted between brackets, in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid, where an account of these events is given. The site of the citadel here men- tioned was known as Dun da leth-glas, by the ancient inhabitants of our island, or as contracted into Dun, now Anglicized Down. In Latin it is called Dunum. It is now a city and an episcopal see, in the eastern part of Ulster. At a period long subse- quent to their several deaths, the relics of
Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Columkille were sures, which had been committed to his
preserved in Down. This incidental pas- sage—already quoted from the Fourth Life of our saint—shows that the writer of this treatise must have written it, subsequent to
charge, removed to a safer place, owing to the frequently-recurring ravages of infidels. The Ulster province was then considered more secure than any other part of Ireland,
as Niall Cuille, King of Ireland, was sta- van's Annals of the Four Masters," tioned there, with his forces. At the year
A. D. 823, when, according to Dr. O'Dono- "
"Blathmac, son of Flann, received the
crown of martyrdom, for he was killed by
the foreigners at I Coluim-Cille," vol. i. , pp.
436, 437. At that date, St. Columkille's the Abbot of la, died in Pictland," vol. i. , relics were kept at lona, off Albanian Sco-
tia's coast, as Walafrid Strabo, a contempo- raneous writer, relates, in his account o—f St.
Blathmac's martyrdom, in these lines
:
** "
Et reliquis rabida sociis feritate peremptis, pendix V. See Trias Thaumaturga,"
Ad sanctum venere patrem, pretiosa me- Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, n. 30, p. 543.
talla
Redere cogentes, quels sancta Columbae
Ossa jacent ; quam quippe suis de sedi- bus arcam
Tollentes tumulo terra posuere cavato Cespite sub denso, gnari jam pestis ini-
quae. "
At the time of St. Blathmaic's martyrdom.
Also, Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, nn. 13, 14, pp. 565, 566, ibid. Also, Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 460, 461, and nn. (f, g), pp. 452, 453, and n. (p), pp. 466, 467, with pp. 442, 443,
^ The ancient Dun Keltair at this place
is composed of three great earthen ramparts, with as many intervening trenches. These were covered with a growth of furze, briars,
upon Leinster, burning and devastating va- rious places where they came. Kildare is
mentioned, as having been spoiled by them,
863, in Dr. O'Douovan's "Annals of the
"
lach, son of Ailill, Abbot of Cill-dara, and
Four Masters," it is recorded, that
Ceal-
pp. 500, 501. He appears to have sue* ceeded Sedulius, Abbot of Kildare, who died in 828, since we read of no other Abbot of Kildare that lived there as an interme- diary. This he undertook to prove in Ap-
112 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i.
sent would not dare to inquire, from their venerated Apostle, the meaning of this portent ; but, they applied for a solution of it, from the holy virgin, Brigid. She told them to ask their common father, St. Patrick, for an ex-
planation.
:
The latter replied to her " You and I are equals, therefore
explain this mystery to the people. "7o St. Brigid then spoke to the assem-
bla^^e ; she told them, that apparition indicated St. Patrick's spirit, which
went, as it were, before to visit the place where his body should be interred
""
after his death. 7^ For," said she, where this meteor first rested near us,
there shall the body of our holy patron lie unburied for some days,7» and thence shall it be brought, and be interred in Leathglaisse Dun,73 where it shall remain to the day of judgment. ''74 Holy Patrick then requested our saint to make with her own hands that shroud, in which his body should be wrapped after death, and he expressed a desire to arise from the grave, clothed with it, to receive his eternal reward. This request our holy virgin promised should be complied with, and she also predicted to St. Patrick, that he with herself and the celebrated St. Columkille, another great Irish apostle, not then born, should arise for judgment, from this same tomb. 75 The body of Ireland's illustrious Apostle was afterwards wrapped in that shroud then promised him by St. Brigid. On hearing this colloquy and pre- diction, the crowd assembled praised Almighty God. 76
Subsequently, as we are told, having obtained permission from the holy Archbishop Patrick for a return to her own part of the country, St. Brigid travelled over a plain called Breagh, within the Meathian territory. While she dwelt there at a certain cell, it would seem the wife, probably of Fer- gus,77 the son of Conall Crimthann, who was son to Niall, King of Ireland,7^
sloe and hawthorn bushes, when visited by the writer in May, 1874. The whole is surrounded with marshy meadows, re- claimed from the waters of Lough Strang- ford.
70 See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, vii. , p. 88.
7' In a note, on this passage, Colgan ob- serves, the meaning does not appear to be, that St. Patrick s soul, not yet departed from his body, actually came to the place of his future interment, but that the meteor represented it, and the place lor its future burial. See "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, n. 32, p. 543.
72 See ibid. Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, n.
15, p. 566.
^^ At this present time, in the small and
Joceline, cap. 189, viz. , that St. Patrick died in the monastery of Saul, and that his body afterwards had been interred in the city of
Down. Joceline also adds, cap. 193, that the Irish Apostle s body remained twelve days unburied at the former place, before it was brought to Down, on account of a con- test that took place between the Armagh
and Down people, who respectively con- tended for the possession of his remains.
75 See ibid. , Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. XXX. , p, 554. Also, Vita I'ertia S. Brigidoe, cap. Ix. , pp. 533, 534. This latter chapter concludes the account regarding this linen shroud by an observation, "in loco constat. " On this passage, Colgan has a note, where it is observed, that the author of the Third Life must have flourished at a
greatly crowded cemetery of JJownpatrick, very early period ; for, the linen shroud in beside the old cathedral, a hole has been question does not seem to have been in ex- opened over one of the graves, which is istence, for several ages, previous to the supposed by the people to have been the seventeenth century. Ib/d. , n. 33, p, 543. spot, where St. Patrick's body had been in-
terred. Under this impression, the Catho- lics of the town and neighbourhood fre- quently remove small quantities of earth. Even pilgrims from the most distant parts of the world obtain portions, which they carry away as souvenirs of Ireland's great Apostle.
7* The author of St. Tatrick's Fourth
Life appears to insinuate, in this particular place, what is asserted by Probus, in his
iafe of St. Patrick, lib. ii. , and also by
T^ To these foregoing circumstances, some allusion seems to be made, and with a suffi- cient amount of poetical licence, in Vita Sexta S. Brigidse, sees, xlvi. , xlviii. , pp. 592, 593. Jbid.
77 This son to King Conall, who is said to have dwelt in the plain of Breagh, and whose posterity had been addicted to vio- lence and bloodshed, during a period they ruled over the kingdom, can be no other than Ferguss, surnamed Kerrbheoil.
78 Niall the Great had two sons, both of
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
"3
visitedher,toentreatherintercession. Thenoble-bornwoman,inquestion, brought a silver vessel, as a gift for our saint. Brigid sent one of her nuns to wait upon that distinguished visitor, who stood without the door. For some cause, the holy abbess herself did not wish to appear. 79 The nun soon returned, asking why her superioress would not see the queen and pray to God for her, that thus she might obtain the object desired by the royal visitor, and more especially, as the holy virgin had often asked for like favours, on behalf of peasants' wives. The saint of God replied, that with few exceptions, the poor and rustics serve Almighty God, and pray to Him ; whilst, only in it'ff instances, is it found, that the children of kings are not malicious, sons of blood, and libertines.
However, the queen appears to have obtained the favour she sought, through the intervention of our holy abbess. To her prayers is attributed the birth of Diermit,^° son to Fergus,^^ and afterwards supreme Monarch of Ireland. ^^' In granting her request, however, our saint told the nun, that the queen's posterity must needs be addicted to deeds of bloodshed,^3 and must incur malediction, even although they should reign for a lapse of years. ^^ The event corresponded with our saint's prediction. ^5
This illustrious abbess did not take her mind or her attention from our
Lord, for the space of one hour at any time. She was constantly speaking of Him, and she was ever thinking of Him, as is evident from her own life, and also from the life of St. Brenainn, Bishop of Cluain-fearta. ^^ She was very hospitable, likewise, and exceedingly charitable towards guests and needy people. ^7 Animated with this kindly and generous spirit towards her neighbour, she loved God to such a degree, that her mind was continually intent on His Divine perfections, and elevated by holy contemplation. One
whomwerecalledConallorConald; but, to distinguish them, one was named Conall Crimthann, and the other Conall Gulban. In the time of St. Brigid, Conall Crimthann, with his progeny, ruled over the extensive territories of Breagh and Meath. Before St. Brigid's birth or the arrival of St. Pa- trick in Ireland, Conall Gulban acquired ample possessions in Ulster. From him, the district, called Tir-Connell, derived its name.
" This account is also very fully related
in Abbate D. Giacomo Certani's " La San-
titi frodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Iber-
because Ferguss, son of the last-named
prince, then ruled over Breagh territory, while the sons of Conall Gulban reigned in Ultonia ; as also, because a son to this Ferguss was the famous Diermit, King of Ireland.
8^ When the writers of St. Brigid's Acts call the posterity of a child, born through her prayers, bloody, they seem to have had reference to these and like disastrous issues. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, n. 36, pp. 543, 544.
^3 From the race of^ both Conalls issued
many kings, not only over those provinces, which have been already alluded to,
nese. " LibroQuinto,pp. 538to340.
^This Diermit had three sons, Aldus but who even were monarchs over all Ire-
Slane, Colman, surnamed the Great, and land ; and, it may be observed, on account
Colman, the Less. The sons and posterity of these princes, contending for the sove-
reignty of Meath and of Ireland, engaged
in devastating wars. In such internecine
contests, the kings themselves were fre- quentlykilled; asforinstance,Suibhne,son
to Colman the Less, was cut off by Aldus
Slane ; and Conall, son to the same Aldus,
was slain by ^nguss, son of Colman the
Great; Conall,sonoftheaforesaidSuibhne,
was put to death by the same Aldus Slane ;
while Moelumius and Colchus, two sons of
yEnguss, son to Colman the Great, were xvii. , p. 17. killed by Diermit, son to Aldus Slane.
^'
In the present case, we must suppose Conall Crimthainn's son alluded to, as well
«7See "The Martyrology of Donegal. " Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd, and Reeves, pp.
34, 35-
Vol. II.
I
of many wars waged by them, in acquiring and defending their territories, they deserved to be called men of violence.
^^ See L. Tachet de Barneval's
**
Histoire
Ldgendaire de ITrlande," chap, vi. , p. 57. "
^sSee Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxiv. , p. 555. Also, Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, cap.
Ixiv. , p. 534. 8^ "
See Acta Sancti Brendani. " Edited by Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran, D. D. , Bishop of Ossory. Vita S. Brendani, cap.
114 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [I'ebruary t.
day, a pious man came to that place,^^ where Brigid was accustomed to oflfer her private devotions, when he found her hands extended towards heaven, in prayer. ^9 Our saint was so entranced in God's holy presence, that she seemed undisturbed, in the least degree, by shouts of certain neighbouring villagers, both men and women. These 'were engaged in driving away some calves from their dams. On seeing St. Brigid's attention thus wholly absorbed in the Divine presence, her devout visitor was not willing to disturb the course of her meditations. After the lapse of an hour, however, he
:
returned,andsaidtoher "OSaintofGod,haveyounotheardgreatout-
cries raised in the hamlet ? " She answered in the negative. Her interro-
"
gator then said :
What, therefore, hath become of thy hearing ? " St. Brigid
"As God is
beheld Masses celebrated in the city of Rome,9° and at the tombs of the Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul. 9^ I very much desire, likewise, that the wholeRomanritualandliturgymaybebroughttome. "^^ Afterwards,St. Brigid sent prudent men to Rome,93 that thence these might bring the same masses and ecclesiastical rules. ? * At Placentia95 and elsewhere, she is said to have saved her messengers by miracles? ^ from impending death. The following legendary account, regarding this mission, is found in a commentary,
my witness,
^ It is assumed to have been in Kildare,
by the Abbate Certani, although it may have been at some other place.
^ This narrative is very fully set forth in Abbate D. Giacomo Certani's **La Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibernese. " Libro Sesto, pp. 472 to 479.
9° Colgan remarks, that her words could have been verified in a double manner : First, either by supposing St. Brigid to have
been miraculously present, in the two dis- tant cities of Rome and—of Kildare—if that
replied :
be the place designated
time ; or, secondly, by remaining, in one place only, she could have seen in spirit what occurred, in the other^distant city. He adds, that either mode is possible, and that other instances are to be found, as in St. Anthony of Padua's Acts, which bear a re- semblance to what is here related. See
** Trias Thaumaturga," Tertia Vita S. Bri- gidse, n. 54, p. 544.
at one and the same
in
of Marianus O'Gorman, at the 1st of Feb- ruary, there are various particulars given, regarding the legation of St. Brigid.
9* See ibid. , Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. ii. , cap. xiv. , p. 552. Vita Tertia S. Bri- gidae, cap. xci. , pp. 538, 539, ibid. In the latter life, to the account contained in the text, this following sentence is added :— "Item dixit post aliquantum tempus Bri-
9* The author of her metrical acts ad illos states, gida
that she was not present at Rome bodily, but only saw by a mental illuminat—ion what
qui-
took place in that city. He adds
detulerunt ut invenerunt. "
the first century of the Christian era, Silius
"
:
Officium sanctum placuit sibi semper ha- bendum,
Unde sacerdotes Romam transmisit ad urbem.
Sacra adferre nova et quodcumque audi-
verat
illic,
Virginibus cupiens haic tradere lege pe-
renni.
Libros composites, cantumque et munera multa
Misit Apostolicus Brigidse, concessit ha- benda
Tradidit ilia suis, discendi vertit inusum,"
"
Certavit Mutinas quassata Placentia
--Sexta Vita S. Brigidae, sec. Ivi. p. 594. loid^
— bello. " **
Punicorum," lib. viii. , v. 593. It is now called Placenza, on the River Trebia, not far from the Po. A very interesting de- scription of it may be found, in Rev. John Chetwode Eustace's " Classical Tour through Italy, An. MDCCCII. ," vol. i. , chap, vi. , pp. 237 to 241.
9^ These Colgan did not think necessary to be related, in his own notes. See " Tria9 Thaumaturga," n. 55.
at the time I heard and you speak of,
9' The meaning of the Latin words, in our saint's lives, seems to indicate, that St. Brigid desired to conform entirely to the rites, ceremonies and constitutions of the Roman Church; wherefore, the Ritual of Rome and the Roman order bear such a sig- nification.
93 Colgan says, that in an Irish Life of
St. Brigid, at chapter 50, and in an old MS. , called by our antiquaries, "The Book of
Hymns," in a commentary to a certain can- ticle, composed in praise of St. Brigid, and
commentaries, affixed to the Martyrology
viros ;
dam commutaverunt in Roma missas post-
Ego sentio quod quam venistis ab ea. Exite iterum. Et illi
exierunt et
95 This was an ancient city of Italy. In
Italicus alludes to
it,
in this hexameter line:
I'ebruary I. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. ti^
affixed to St. Angus' "Metrical Festilogy," at the ist of February. On a certain day, as she could not undertake the journey herself, St. Brigid sent
seven of her disciples to Rome,97 that they might bring from thence the
Ordo of St. Peter, or the Roman Rite. But, on their return home, they en-
tirely forget what they had then learned. To whom St. Brigid addressed
these words " The Son of the Virgin knows, that however great your dili- :
gence had been, it is altogether useless. " Again, she despatched seven other disciples, and with a hke result. A third time, she sent other mes- sengers,andjoinedwiththemacertainblind/r^/^^<? ofherown. TheAl- mighty had endowed this blind man with the singular faculty of retaining permanently in his recollection, whatsoever he heard. Being overtaken by a storm in the Iccian98 or Tyrhene^s* sea, they cast anchor. Alterwards, being unable to raise it, the crew cast lots among themselves, to determine who should commit himself to the deep to loose its fastenings. Their lot fell upontheblindmanalreadymentioned. Ondivingdownwards,heappeared no more, until other sailors, driven by the same storm, cast anchor in this place. When they wound it upwards again, they observed this blind man ascending with their anchor, and bearing with him the Ecclesiastical Rite or
"
Ordo, and a bell, afterwards called, Cloc an mic daill, or
bell of the blind
son. " At a time this legend was in vogue, it was believed, St. Brigid's fa-
mily had still possession ot this bell,'°° and that they used a Ritual, called
"
the
yet it probably shadows the substance of a conviction, that St. Brigid, Hke her beloved teacher St. Patrick, clung with fidelity and affection to the rites and practices of the Roman Church, the true fountain and centre of Christian union.
CHAPTER VIII.
ILLAND, THE WARRIOR PRINCE OF LEINSTER—ST. BRIGID VISITS HER FATHER, DUB- TACH, AND PROTECTS HIS FAMILY—FAVOURS ACCORDED TO THE HOLY ABBESS— SHE VISITS KING ILLAND AND BLESSES HIM—THE VICTORIES OF THIS DYNAST OVER HIS ENEMIES—THE BORUMHA LAIGHEAN—WARS THROUGHOUT IRELAND DURING ST. brigid's LIFETIME—DEATH OF KING ILLAND—VICTORY OBTAINED AFTER HIS DEATH BY THE LAGENIANS, THROUGH THE SPECIAL PROTECTION OF ST. BRIGID.
Again must we regard St. Brigid as having returned to Leinster, where the chief
Ordo Placentinus. "^°^ Quaint though the form of this legend may be,
actions of her religious life took place.
97 Very numerous views of this city by Piranesi are engraved in R. Venuti's *' Ac- curata e Succinta Descrizione Topografica e Istorica di Roma Moderna," published in four 4to vols. Roma, A. D. 1766.
^The Iccius Portus of is Ptolemy sup-
posed to be Calais in Picardy ; so that the sea between that port of France and Dover is
Soon after the death of Crimthann,^
conserua quel libro col campanello nel Mo-
nasterio Killdariense chiamandosi da tutti
Cloc-an-Mic-Daill, cioe Campana del figlio cieco. "—"La Santit^ Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibemese. " Libro Sesto, p. 478.
as the " Iccium Mare. "
'°^ The account adds that Placentia -was a city near the Iccian, or more correctly the Tyrrhenian Sea, and that there St, Brigid vtras venerated. See " Trias Ihauma-
usually distinguished
99 This was called by the ancients indif-
Colgan's
turga," Appendix Secunda ad Acta S. Bri-
''
ferently TuscumMare,velTyrrhenum, quod et Infernum. " It lies on the western shore of Italy. See Wilkinson's "Atlas Classica. " Map 24. Italia Antiqua.
'°° The Abbate Certani says:— " Si con- seru6 lunghissimo tempo, e forse ancora si
gidae,cap.
